About “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)”

“Audition” is a song sung by Mia (Emma Stone), an aspiring actress, in the movie La La Land.
The film explores just how brutal the auditioning process is.

Before this scene, Mia had decided to give up on acting altogether. However, she is drawn back to L.A. when she is invited to audition for a movie that would be a huge opportunity for her, because the casting director had seen her act in her one-woman show. The casting director explains that the film’s script isn’t finished yet, and Mia would be expected to help build her character from the ground up. For her audition, they ask her to tell a story to illustrate how she could contribute to the film’s creative process. Remembering the struggles she’s faced throughout the movie, and the idealism that drew her to acting in the first place, Mia recites a story of her aunt—the woman who inspired her to take the leap, and convinced that her it wasn’t insanity, but bravery to follow her dreams.

What have songwriters said about the song?

There’s this one ballad Emma sings that really feels like a musical theater-influenced torch song, somewhere between the worlds of jazz and American songbook writing. But it’s very much its own thing; little clashes of styles that make it interesting and unique.